On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville told reporters in his weekly press call that “there is no threat” from three unidentified flying objects that were shot down over the United States and Canada in the last week.
Tuberville said that defense and intelligence officials still are not sure what it was that U.S. Air Force F22 fighter jets shot down.
“If they know they are not telling us,” Tuberville said. “We have been in classified briefings.”
The unidentified flying objects are believed to be balloons of some type.
Tuberville said that the objects may be “weather-related.”
The White House has said that the objects are not extra-terrestrial in origin.
Tuberville explained that after the giant Chinese intelligence balloon two weeks ago, air defense forces opened up their radar and detection systems so that defense forces are better able to detect things like balloons so in the past, objects like the objects shot down may not have even been detectable previously.
“We have opened up our radars more and are picking up more of them,” Tuberville said. “I am still perplexed that we shot something down, and we still don’t know what it is.”
“Our phone is ringing off the wall on this,” Tuberville said about constituents phoning his offices concerned about the objects presenting an immediate danger.
Tuberville said that the Chinese intelligence balloon flew over Hawaii, Alaska, Montana, and much of the United States before being shot down.
“That should never have been allowed to enter our space,” Tuberville said, given its size and other factors.
President Joe Biden has suggested that the U.S. will go to war with China if China attacks Taiwan.
“He never should have said that,” Tuberville said of the President’s comments, but affirmed that an attack on Taiwan should result in U.S. action.
“We need to defend Taiwan,” Tuberville said. “The problem is we are not ready for China.”
“We have been fighting land wars for twenty years,” Tuberville said. He argued that war with China over the island of Taiwan, “will be fought over water.”
Having sufficient air and naval capabilities to keep the airspace and sea lanes open to Taiwan so the country can keep fighting in an all-out invasion by the People’s Republic of China would be problematic at best for the United States. This is something that Congress is considering and one reason why there have been robust spending increases for defense in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Tuberville serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee that is tasked with oversight of the armed forces and the preparing of the annual NDAA.
“The importance of passing a strong NDAA cannot be overstated,” said Sen. Tuberville. “To maintain our role as the world’s leading superpower, we must also maintain the world’s most modern, prepared, and lethal military. Bolstering our force and military capabilities ensures we are ready to defeat any enemy at any time. I am proud of my work on the Senate Armed Services Committee to draft legislation that gives the military the tools it needs to keep our country safe.”
Tuberville was elected to the Senate in 2020.
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